Description
Book SynopsisWithout stigmatizing commercial activity, this book takes a philosophical and anthropological look at the universe of the gift, debt, and money in the West from ancient Greece to the present in order to examine how and why knowledge has long been assumed to be priceless.
Trade Review"Marcel Henaff 's book provides much material to ponder. He does a masterful job in looking at the exchange in various forms. . . This book provides substantial insights for the social scientist trying to understand how society is constructed through various modes of exchange. . . [T]o the student of religion who is interested in sacrifice and what this tells us about the ways human relate to relgious deities. . . [F]or economists and those who study economic policy. . .To the academian, this book raises profound challenges as one attempts to teach."—Harley Schreck,
Missiology"Among the numerous studies of the 'gift'—ceremonial gift-giving as distinct from exchange and from charity—Marcel Hénaff's wide-ranging book is the best. Its empirical richness is disciplined by a rigorous conceptual framework. This is one of the most important philosophical works of our time, full of inspiring ideas for anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, and historians."—Dr. Hans Joas, Max Weber Center, University of Erfurt, Germany, and Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago
"I owe to the work of Marcel Hénaff entitled
The Price of Truth the idea of resolving what he calls 'the enigma of ceremonial reciprocal gift giving' by resorting to the idea of symbolic mutual recognition."—Paul Ricoeur,
Course of Recognition (2005)
"This rich work by an eminent scholar offers a stunning thesis about the foundations of the social bond. Deeply at home in a variety of disciplines, Hénaff never compromises on rigor. His book is elegantly written and extremely well translated."—Rodolphe Gasché, SUNY, Buffalo
"Priceless truths about the price of truth."—Michel Serres, of the Académie Française
"A magisterial work."—Claude Lévi-Strauss,
Esprit Magazine (2004)
